Tigers Are The Dreamleague Minor Champions

Image by Dreamhack

After finishing on top of the group stage, Tigers rumbled through the upper bracket and took down Na'Vi in a close 3-2 series to take the Dreamleague Minor championship. Down 1-2 in the series, Tigers rolled off two straight games. In the final deciding game, the team brought out the first Underlord pick of the tournament with their last phase. While teams are still playing in a similar patch and meta to TI, the event did bring out some unorthodox choices. We'll be putting up a review of the tournament's meta in an upcoming blog post.

The event kicks off the first DPC points of the year. Tigers stands in first place now, and they'll get a chance to leap ahead of the competition with their entry into the Kuala Lumpur Major.

The Second and Third Dota Major

Valve released further details on the 2nd and 3rd Major of the tournament this week. Starladder and ImbaTV will produce the Chonqing Major, set to take place January 19-27. All qualifiers will be held November 25-30.

Dreamleague will also host Dota's third Major in Stockholm Sweden, from March 22-24. Tickets prices currently range from $9 for a day pass to $165 for a Premium Pass, which includes a goodie bag, private entrance, and priority queue for signing sessions. Both Majors will have the same prize pool at stake: $1 million and 15,000 DPC points.

Last Minute Roster Changes At Kuala Lumpur Major

In a recent announcement, TI champion Mind_Control will standin for NiP at the Kuala Lumpur Major. NiP's captain, ppd, expressed his frustration with the standin policy, which penalizes teams with a 40% DPC point cost, due to Valve's lack of transparency in regards to the circuit's schedule. They had locked in Neta before Valve's announcement that the first Major would take place in Malaysia, a country which ppd notes might be reticent in authorizing visas from Israel.

While NiP's hand was forced to use a standin, Team Aster, in the wake of their elimination from ESL One Hamburg, announced that they would be replacing their mid player, Dstones. While Team Aster outperformed the competition during the group stages, they dropped two series in a row to VG and paiN gaming in the double elimination bracket. With the Kuala Lumpur Major just days away, it seems they've taken the gamble they can gel with a new player in time.

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